


the love that let us share our name

by awkwardspiritanimals



Series: a better communication [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mind Reader!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 18:11:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5137628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardspiritanimals/pseuds/awkwardspiritanimals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of short snapshots from when Fitz and Jemma meet each others parents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the love that let us share our name

Jemma signs through the alphabet nervously, not realizing Fitz is trying to get her attention until he covers her hands with his, stilling them.

“You’re going to be fine.”

“What if I forget something?”

“You won’t. Besides, mum can read lips and I’ll be there the whole time to translate if you need me to.”

“I know, but I want to be able to actually talk to her.”

“And you’ll be able to. You’ve only been practicing for seven months,” he says, pressing a kiss against her temple, “Besides, you’ll only get to meet my mum if I survive meeting your parents.”

“You’re going to be fine,” she says, repeating his own words back to him and lacing their fingers together, “Besides, you’ve talked to them on the phone or on Skype enough. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve ever spoken to them.”

“And you’ve Skyped with my mom almost as much as I have the past few months. You’re going to be great.”

Jemma leans her head against his shoulder with a sigh, “Sign my name for me?”

It was the first thing he had shown her how to sign, and she doesn’t think she can be blamed for liking to watch his hands while he signs, especially when it’s her name. Fitz rolls his eyes, but lets go of her hand.

“J-E-M-M-A,” he signs, and then smiles as he adds, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she signs back, which makes Fitz grin even wider, and it’s her turn to roll her eyes, but she reaches over to take his hand again anyway.

———-

Fitz likes Jemma’s house. It’s big and open and light, and what’s more, it’s happy. Of course he can feel how excited Jemma is to be home, but her parents’ joy at getting to see her and, surprisingly, to meet him is so strong that he can sense it even past his mental walls. It’s contagious, and Fitz finds himself smiling all through dinner despite his nerves.

“So,” Mrs. Simmons says, “Are we finally going to get the full story of how the two of you got together? Jemma has been dancing around the question for months.”

“Um, there’s not really much of a story,” Fitz answers, glancing at Jemma and trying not blush, “It just sort of happened.”

“I flirted with Fitz for a week and he didn’t realize what was happening until I kissed him,” Jemma adds with a grin, which makes her parents laugh.

There were multiple things about the way that they’d gotten together that they didn’t want to tell people about, particularly Jemma’s parents, but between Jemma’s nearly complete inability to lie and the fact that they didn’t want to try and keep a complicated story straight for a long time, they’d eventually decided on a sort of vague, simple version of what had really happened, with no mention of mind reading.

At least with Fitz’s mum, they only had to change what it was that Jemma had been thinking about, although Fitz has no idea how he’s going to get through that conversation without his expression giving them away. He’ll probably make Jemma tell it, since she has a better poker face about this sort of thing.

“It took you an entire week to catch on? Jemma isn’t exactly subtle about that kind of thing,” her father says, which makes both Fitz and Jemma blush.

“I guess I had a hard time believing that somebody so amazing would want to date me. I already felt pretty lucky, getting to be her best friend,” he says, which earns him a kiss on the cheek from Jemma and a pulse of happiness from all three of the Simmonses.

————–

Fitz groans and reaches for his phone on the bedside table.

_You’re not allowed to think dirty thoughts right now._

**If you would just come up here, I wouldn’t have to _think_ them.**

_Your parents’ room is right next to yours and your dad is built like a bear._

**Dad wouldn’t hurt a fly.**

A few seconds later: **Mum on the other hand…**

_That’s why I’ll be staying right here in the guest room, thank you very much._

**Scaredy cat.**

_Your parents seem to like me, and I’m not jeopardizing that to have sex with you in your childhood bedroom._

**That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said to me.**

_I get the feeling they won’t spare me just because I insist it was your idea._

_Also, I think we both know that’s not true._

_One time I told you I can read minds._

**Coward.**

When she doesn’t say anything else, Fitz assumes that she’s content to have gotten the last word and drops his phone back on the table. A few minutes later, he snatches it back.

_JEMMA ABIGAIL SIMMONS._

_THIS IS AN INAPPROPRIATE USE OF YOUR BOYFRIEND’S MIND READING ABILITIES._

_I hate you_ , he adds, and the images finally stop as he feels her laugh.

**You love me** , she texts back, and he returns _I do_ , both to the message and to the now familiar swelling feeling he can sense and recognize even from across the house. The text message feels inadequate in comparison to that and he wishes, not for the first time, that Jemma could borrow his powers, even just for a few minutes, and sense exactly how much he loves her.

She seems to like the text message just fine though, as the feeling increases again. Mixed with the pervading happiness that still fills the house, it’s enough to make Fitz light-headed, and he has to take a few deep breaths before he can focus on the screen of his phone enough to send Good night, Jem.

**Sweet dreams, Fitzy** , she texts back, and he’s just about to return it to the bedside table when it vibrates again.

**I know mine will be.**

_JEMMA._

———-

“Couldn’t sleep?” Fitz’s mum says, and Jemma looks up to see her in the doorway.

“I thought some tea might help,” she replies, setting down her mug so she can sign.

“I’m surprised you’re not keeping Leopold up. When he was little, before he’d learned to block me out, I used to keep him up at night sometimes, when I was worrying about something.”

“And here I thought Fitz could sleep through anything,” Jemma says, “I think he’s gotten pretty used to seeing my thoughts and dreams while he’s trying to fall asleep,” she explains, then blushes as she realizes she probably just revealed how often she and Fitz share a bed, although Mrs. Fitz doesn’t seem that surprised. Fitz says that he has no idea where his powers come from, but having spent a few days with his mum, Jemma is beginning to suspect that it’s genetic, even if it manifests itself in a more obvious way with Fitz than his mother.

“You sign very well, especially for someone who has only recently started learning. Leopold mentioned you were worried about that,” Mrs. Fitz says, settling into the chair next to Jemma with her own mug of tea.

“It still feels like I’ve got a lot to learn, even after seven months, especially when I watch the two of you talk,” Jemma says, and Mrs. Fitz smiles.

“Leopold and I have both been signing our whole lives. I don’t think anyone would expect you to catch up to us in half a year,” she signs, and continues with a wider smile at the expression on Jemma’s face, “He said you didn’t like not being great at things.”

Jemma ducks her head, blushing again.

“Your son knows me very well.”

“I’m glad. When he first told me about you, when you started working together, I thought you sounded rather exceptional. But it wasn’t until he called to tell me he was letting you in on his secret that I really understood how special you are. I’m glad he has you,” she says, reaching out to lay her hand over Jemma’s when she finishes signing.

“I’m glad I have him.”

“Good. Now, I think that, as his mother, it’s my job to tell you, as his girlfriend, at least a few embarrassing stories from his childhood.”

————

The next night, Jemma waits until Mrs. Fitz goes to bed and then sneaks down the hall into Fitz’s room. He groans, already half asleep, when she crawls under the covers next to him.

“Jemma-”

“I’m just here to sleep, I promise,” she says, and despite his protests Fitz lets her tuck herself in against him easily. He sighs, pressing a soft kiss against the back of her head.

They lie in silence for a while, and Jemma thinks that Fitz has fallen asleep when he groans again.

“I can’t believe my mother told you that story about the toaster,” he says, and she laughs.

“It’s an adorable story.”

“It’s an embarrassing story.”

“Oh, like my mother didn’t tell you some embarrassing stories about me. Or like you haven’t seen me think about embarrassing things from my childhood.”

“Point taken,” he says, and then shakes his head, sucking in a breath in the way that Jemma has learned means he’s experiencing a particularly strong emotion from someone else, usually hers, “You really love winning.”

“I do.” She laces her fingers through his where his arm is wrapped over her waist, “I really love you. I think I’ve gotten so used to sharing a bed with you that I’ve been having trouble sleeping on the trip.”

Another deep breath.

“I love you, too. Sweet dreams, Jem. I’ve missed them the past couple of weeks.”

“That’s your own fault,” she says, although she’s starting to drift off and it’s more of a mumble. Fitz just presses another kiss against her hair and tightens his grip around her waist.

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I honestly didn’t even realize that I’d gone 8 months without posting another bit of this story. I sincerely apologize for that. I hope you enjoy this little snapshot piece!
> 
> I’ve decided that instead of having Fitz’s powers come from his absent father, they’re going to be matrilineal. Because Mama Fitz. I still don’t know the explanation for how or why Fitz has these powers, but I will say that he’s not an Inhuman. While that will certainly come up in the fic eventually, it’s not the path I’m taking for Fitz’s powers.
> 
> (The Inhuman storyline won’t be the exact same as in canon, don’t worry. In fact, part of the reason that it’s been so long since I updated is that, instead of writing the next part of this, my brain was writing lots of TripFitz/TripFitzSimmons/TripFitzSkimmons from season 2. I won’t give any spoilers beyond that right nwo.)
> 
> I can’t remember exactly when I decided to headcanon that Fitz’s mum is deaf, but I assume it was at some point during early season 2 when he was still having significant trouble with his hands, and I was thinking about other things that would now be difficult for him. Around that time, I also decided that Marlee Matlin would be perfect as Mama Fitz, but I haven’t had the chance to actually put the headcanon into anything until this point, and I’m excited to work with it in this universe. Fitz, his mother and Jemma are all using British Sign Language (BSL) here, although Fitz has also picked up some scattered American Sign Language (ASL) during his time in the States. (Hearing children of deaf parents are a really interesting group of people from a sociological standpoint, and I’d recommend reading a study or two if you have a little time).
> 
> I’ll probably skip up to the start of Season 1 now, which is a significant time jump and I may go back to fill in some of the gap at a later time, but I’d like to finally get into the canon timeline and start exploring Fitz’s powers and Fitzsimmons’ relationship in the context of the team. I will say that the way Skye’s powers were handled by everyone in Season 2 has significantly altered my plans regarding how much Fitz is ever willing to reveal about his powers to the other members of the team.
> 
> Also, updates from now on may not be strictly chronological, but I’ll try to keep the part numbers straight/adjust them so the series can be read in the correct order if I write/post out of order.
> 
> Title comes from the Avett Brothers song ‘Murder in the City,’ which doesn’t have much to do with the fic overall, but I really love that line, and it serves a duel function here, referencing both the separate relationships that Fitz and Jemma have with their families, and the love that lets ‘Fitzsimmons’ share their names. Yes, I do think I’m quite clever.


End file.
